A SCOTTISH potato machinery manufacturer has launched its first potato harvester on to the European market at the Potato Europe event, in France.

Veteran machinery designer, Gordon Skea, said the ScanStone Patriot harvester is a natural progression to his already successful windrowing machine.

Designed to gently handle the crop, it features a large capacity cart elevator for crops with large tonnage. "This entry level potato harvester might be basic in design, but has a great quality build structure and has a refined way of working," said Mr Skea.

"Like the rest of the products in the ScanStone range, the Patriot is simple, effective and efficient. It has full belt drive and early next year, its big brother harvester will be introduced with a greater cleaning capacity and the options of a picking off table, digging web and land drive. This larger machine will be the Patriot 8."

It has been 28 years since Gordon Skea was involved in the design of the Reekie 1500M harvester, followed by the famous Reekie Clean-Flow Harvester, both produced in Forfar.

"Now, in 2016, we are here again producing trailed potato harvesters – the only people in Scotland to do so and one of two companies in Great Britain," he pointed out.

Established in 2004, ScanStone started the manufacture of stone and clod separators, as well as bed-makers for root crop farmers. Since it has added award-winning bed tillers to its range, with one, two and three bed options. Latterly a vegetable windrower, primarily for potato crops, has been added and the Patriot is based on the two-row version.